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April 29, 2025
NEWS FROM THE CACTUS PATCH
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Just one more sleep until we swing open the gates and another season of revelry at Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium begins. Drop-in shopping officially begins on April 30th, 2025, we are open from 4:00-7:00 on opening day. This season's hours are:
- Wednesdays and Thursdays 4pm - 7pm
- Fridays and Saturdays 10am - 5pm
- Sundays 12pm-4pm
Wonderful new items arrive each and every week from April through October. Click below to get all of the details. Please note that during the first few opening weeks of the season new varieties come and go so quickly that it is impossible for us to maintain an up to date availability list. We are restocking constantly as items come available at our select Northeast Growers. Know that there are hundreds of varieties of incredible quality native plants and other fun plants and products available. Log off of the internet and come explore in real life - just like at the Emporiums of yesteryear :-)!
| | Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for daily news, advice, and inspiration. Keep an eye out for "Plant of the Day" profiles, they are a great way to learn more about native plants! Our "Wildscaping Wednesday" posts provide foundational tips for nature-based gardening success, and by staying connected you'll be sure to not miss out on the latest happenings at the Emporium. Find us at the buttons below: | |
We are excited to be participating in and partnering to help promote the 2025 "Less Lawn - More Life Across America Challenge"!! It starts May 1st so don't delay getting signed up. We are already dreaming up ways to connect Southern New Englanders participating in the challenge for camaraderie and to share learnings and experiences! And we are connected to the dynamic challenge organizers to ensure that our region has the latest intel on all that's happening and shows up in a big way!
It is FREE, fun, and shaping up to be a truly transformative happening. When yards across America unite - nature thrives! The program runs for 12 weeks and includes all-star webinars, celebrity appearances, tools, resources, challenges, community building, and the opportunity to connect to a movement that is changing the way we landscape across America! Click on the image below for all of the details and to get registered. See you there! And stay tuned to our social media channels for updates on what's happening locally to spread the word #lesslawnmorelife!
| | What's trending on our blog? Hedgerows and Moon Gardens! Read all about them below. | |
Good Hedgerows Make Good Neighbors!
As the weather warms up, images of barbecues, pool parties, gardening joy, and relaxing moments in the sun come to mind. In the pursuit of backyard privacy, many opt for fences or hedges. However, instead of settling for the ordinary, consider a hedgerow—a lively, diverse, living boundary for your yard that offers numerous ecosystem advantages.
Hedgerows have ancient roots in the English and Irish countryside, where trees and shrubs artfully combine with an array of other plant life to create a protective, living space around pastures or crops. What started as the act of leaving a border of woodland at the edges evolved into an artful crafting of intricate living boundaries that served as barriers, wind blocks, and wildlife habitats.
The neighbor shielding walls of arborvitaes or the privet and boxwood borders prevalent in our region today are typical examples of hedges. In contrast, a hedgerow is a lively celebration of plant diversity, featuring an array of shrubs, small trees, and a colorful assortment of flowering perennials, native grasses, groundcovers and even vines. Unlike the neat arrangement of a hedge, hedgerows are charmingly chaotic; planted in two to three zigzagging rows and often extending over 10 feet in width.
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CREATING YOUR VERY OWN HEDGEROW OVER ON OUR BLOG!
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Plant a Moon Garden and Bring on the Magic of the Night!
On May 12th, the Full Flower Moon will appear in the sky, representing renewal, growth, and fresh beginnings. Experienced gardeners in southern New England recognize this event as the official kickoff of the gardening season. A rich tapestry of tradition and folklore surrounds the practice of lunar gardening. This ancient concept is based on the belief that each moon phase infuses the garden with distinct energies.
Just as the moon's gravitational pull affects the tides, it is believed to influence the underground activities of plant roots during various lunar phases. The gravitational force is at its peak during the new moon, prompting many to harness this energy for planting new seedlings. In contrast, the full moon is often seen as the ideal time for harvesting. Ultimately, the enchantment of lunar gardening lies in its reminder to stay attuned to nature and its natural rhythms. It also serves as a gentle reminder that garden life persists even after the sun sets!
For millions of years there has been a night shift at work pollinating plants and trees, yet until recently little was known about these nocturnal visitors. Recent and intriguing scientific findings reveal that moths are the overlooked champions of pollination. A study from the University of Arkansas demonstrated that moths can pollinate apple trees with the same efficiency as bees. Additional research has shown that the fuzzy underbellies of moths serve as excellent carriers of pollen, facilitating the transfer between flowers.
So, how does this relate to your garden? Just as many neighbors are crafting vibrant pollinator gardens to attract the buzzing visitors of the day—bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds—so too can life filled spaces be conjured for the wondrous winged beings of the night, manifested in the form of magical moon gardens.
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT CREATING YOUR VERY OWN MOON GARDEN - INCLUDES OUR FAVORITE PLANT SUGGESTIONS TO BRING ON THE MOON MAGIC!
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Feeling a bit stuck in your habitat planning?
A reminder to make use of the many resources that are available to you on our website. Carve out time each week to explore. Two new additions to the planning resources are highlighted below.
| | Want to start a flowering pollinator garden but feeling a bit in the weeds in your planning? Consider a 3x3x3 starter garden and get things buzzing! See details in the image below and use the many resources and plant lists available on our website to plug in the plants! | |
Thank you to all of the participants and presenters in the Yards Alive Learning Series! It was fun spending time with you this winter/early spring and we appreciate your collective commitment to creating better spaces outside our doors.
A resource handout is available on our website, please download and use it well! And a PDF of slides from "The ABCs and 123s of Creating Living Landscapes" and "Creating Magical Outdoor Spaces Where Kids Can Thrive" are also available to download and review. Stay tuned for future events coming later this year!
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE MATERIALS!
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Habitat Restoration Underway!
You may notice a bit of construction and chaos in the wilder areas adjacent to our overflow parking lot - it is all good things - read on!
This winter, with the help of National Grid we were finally able to make huge progress in clearing out overgrown autumn olive, buckthorn, multiflora rose, invasive honeysuckle, bittersweet, phragmites, and burning bush in our wilder areas adjacent to what you all know as overflow parking. It left behind a vast (and slightly overwhelming) land of opportunity to rebuild a thriving native plant community.
Someday this will be a buzzing Powerline Prairie wrapped in a richly diverse shrubland border. And if we keep saying it enough times eventually it will be true ! We started rebuilding in late fall and early spring and planting will continue in the coming weeks (and years!).
National Grid has an easement on part of our land to maintain space around the lines that bring power into our area. Historically power companies have often done this by mowing, slashing and spraying. But they are beginning to explore if there might just be a better way. There must be a better way!! Low growing native plant communities in Rights of Way corridors eliminate the need for lots of maintenance while also creating diverse thriving habitats that are essential for biodiversity but rarely exist in our area. Kind of cool.
Our little spot here has been included in something called a BioAudit which is exploring the science behind this concept. And we recently learned that due to the world of opportunity - for both progress and learning - our site will be a "Green Lab" in the BioAudit project.
So don't be fooled by the seeming chaos - it is planned chaos with fantastic things ahead! It’s pretty interesting and you can read more about it here https://bioaudit.acrt.com/national-grid/.
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What's on our coffee table? Glad you asked! We are enjoying the latest book from Kelly D. Norris and think you will find it both helpful and inspirational as well! The book is titled "Your Natural Garden". One reviewer writes "Kelly Norris has more to tell us at this crucial time than you can imagine until you start reading this brilliant, beautiful, welcoming book..."
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We Are Locally Owned - And Operated
Thank you for Shopping Small and Supporting Local!
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At Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium we are focused on making the area a little bit wilder one yard at a time! We offer great native plants, prickly pear cactus, magic dirt, unusual pollinator friendly annuals, organic herb and vegetable plants, lots of solicited and unsolicited advice & random curiosities designed to get your yard really buzzing. Your favorite wildscaping neighbors live right next door to the Emporium and are directly involved in every part of the business. You can read all about us on our website, including the story of where the name Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch came from.
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New to our mailing list or want to look back at prior editions? Our eNews archive is available right on our website.
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Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch
6 Barneyville Road,
Barrington, RI 02806-2715
(401) 248-4785
Please note, use the address above for mailing or for GPS but the Roadside Stand/Native Plant Emporium is located in Swansea, MA directly next door to the address listed above. Just look for the sign and for the big red barn.
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